This is a film that works best by at first creeping up on you and then grabbing you on the spine. Nothing is what it seems here as the central character has recently been released from a mental institute and is unsure of whether the events she believes are happening are real, or in fact a figment of her imagination. By developing a tense atmosphere and building up a lot of suspense, this film is a rarity that really does manage to provoke chills.
While watching, it's hard to ignore the '70s fashions and the whole dated, arty, hippy mentality. However, if you do manage to overcome these obstacles then you're in for a darned good film. The acting is amateurish and yet suited to the piece; who better to portray normal people than, well, people off the street? The female lead is absolutely wonderful, playing a mentally unstable woman who is the heroine of the film, and who everybody else believes is crazy in any case.
Towards the end of the film, things really begin to gel together as the chills become more focused. In one spellbinding, transfixing scene a pale figure rises out of a lake, a haunting apparition. The townsfolk are clearly involved in some huge conspiracy, leading to lots of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS-style paranoia. A clear reminder that violence and gore are not necessary for a horror film to scare, this underrated classic is highly unsettling.
While watching, it's hard to ignore the '70s fashions and the whole dated, arty, hippy mentality. However, if you do manage to overcome these obstacles then you're in for a darned good film. The acting is amateurish and yet suited to the piece; who better to portray normal people than, well, people off the street? The female lead is absolutely wonderful, playing a mentally unstable woman who is the heroine of the film, and who everybody else believes is crazy in any case.
Towards the end of the film, things really begin to gel together as the chills become more focused. In one spellbinding, transfixing scene a pale figure rises out of a lake, a haunting apparition. The townsfolk are clearly involved in some huge conspiracy, leading to lots of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS-style paranoia. A clear reminder that violence and gore are not necessary for a horror film to scare, this underrated classic is highly unsettling.